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Friday, September 6

As many of you have seen on pinterest, etsy and everywhere else on the web, wedding hangers are the new thing. Bride and bridesmaids love to take pictures of there dresses hanging on hanger that has their new last name on it. Well of course I had to be one of those brides too!

I started on Etsy, but with the price of hangers starting at $15 and going up I knew that would be too much of an expense for myself and 5 bridesmaids. That would be over $90 just for hangers!!!

Next, I moved to Pinterest to learn how to make them myself. Unfortunately when I made the hangers for the wedding I didn't document me making them. (That was a busy time in my life...) I went through some trials and errors but they came out beautiful in the end. I packaged them up with my bridesmaid gifts and the girls loved them. Plus they made and adorable picture.

So, when I got a bridal shower invitation the other day I knew i had to make her a hanger, and document it to!

Without further ado. Here is the tutorial:

Supplies:
Wooden Hanger with slits (The wedding dress is really heavy! It will slip off without it.) Pack of 5 for $8.99 at Bed Bath and Beyond
12 gauge wire (found in the jewelry isle at craft stores) $5 to $10 depending on how much you buy
Computer + Printer, Or Good Handwriting
Needle nose pliers
Drill
Super Glue
Painters tape - optional
Pens, Highlighters - optional

Step 1 - Make a stencil
If you have beautiful handwriting (which I don't) draw a straight line the length of a hanger. Write out the name in cursive how you want it to look. If you are not sure how some letters should be desgined, search on Etsy to see how they made the letters.

If you don't have beautiful handwriting, find a cursive font online, type your name and print it out. I settled Clementine Sketch from dafont.com. You can download it for free. I like that this font is "hollow" so you can move your wire inside the letters.

Step 2 - Bend Wire
Once I had my stencil I could start bending. My first few attempts were pretty awful. But once you get a hang of it, it becomes a little easier. Use the stencil to get the general shape of the letters, and feel free to get creative. I made the "dot" after Mrs a heart.

Tips while Bending:
1. If your needle nose pliers has grooves it will imprint on the wire. Use painters tape to cover the grooves.
2. Start with about 3-5 inches un-touched. If your name comes out shorter or longer than you wanted it to, you will still be able to center it on the hanger.
3. For round letters use pens or highlighters to bend the wire around. This will give it a smooth look.

Step 3 - Attach to Hanger.
Using a pen measure about one inch from the bottom of the hanger and make a dot. Repeat on both sides. This will usure that when you drill the hole the wire name will be level.

Using a drill with a small drill bit, drill a hole at a 45 degree angle to the hanger. You want the name to be able to slip in at a straigt line.

Once the holes are drilled, use a scrap piece of wire to "test" the holes. You don't want to mess with the wire name to much. If the wire fits you are good, of not drill the hole a littler bigger.

Next lay the wire name ceter on the hanger and cut the extra ends of.

Insert both sides of the wire name into the hanger and viola!! you have a beautiful hanger! If the name is a little loose add a small dab of super glue into the holes. That will keep the name from tipping over.

Step 4 - Admire
See how simple that was! Now if you want, you can add bows or ribbon to the hanger to add a little extra touch.